With the widespread use of camera equipped smart phones, it is difficult for individuals to avoid being photographed and/or video recorded, and having their photos distributed or uploaded on social media, even when not desired. Also, it is difficult to track all the online location where the image data may appear or be uploaded. Such image data can reveal private information that is not intended to be shared. For example, pictures can act as an identifier of an individual's social activities, schedule, location, relationships and other private information (e.g., home town location, location of child's school/activities, etc.).
Further, private information can be indirectly inferred from image data. For example, if a person is a regular visitor of a location such as a specific restaurant, grocery shop, child's activity, entertainment center, etc., and some public pictures show that person's presence in these locations, then the person's personal schedule could be easily deduced.
Additionally, image data captured when a person is a bystander can likewise reveal a great amount of personal information that is not intended to be shared. Pictures taken in such circumstances, and shared, could be maliciously utilized to jeopardize the privacy and/or safety of the bystander. For instance, pictures of individuals collected over the Web were recently demonstrated to be a sufficient source of information to hack into biometric data-protected information. Unfortunately, no effective facility for controlling the present of image data in online environments exists.